War on Whistleblowers

War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State. This documentary from Robert Greenwald highlights four cases in which whistleblowers exposed government wrongdoing to the media and faced serious repercussions. It presents stories of government employees who discovered wrongdoing, brought the evidence to their superiors and, after encountering neglect or resistance, at last took the information to the news media — to the benefit of the public but to the detriment of their families and careers. The account begins with Franz Gayl, a whistle-blower ultimately applauded by conservatives and liberals alike. Because of Mr. Gayl’s efforts, the Pentagon substituted appropriately armored vehicles in Iraq for the far more vulnerable troop carriers that were originally deployed. The film moves on to more politically charged cases: those of Thomas Drake, a former official at the National Security Agency, and Thomas Tamm, a former Justice Department lawyer. They discuss how they disclosed that the George W. Bush administration was conducting warrantless surveillance of Americans as part of its counterterrorism program. Using the testimony of journalists (including The New York Times) and advocates in nongovernmental organizations and the most distinguished of whistle-blowers Daniel Ellsberg, The film contends that government secrecy is entrenched and largely self-serving, as demonstrated by the reprisals inflicted. To clinch this argument, it points out that despite President Obama’s promises of transparency in government, prosecutions of whistle-blowers during his administration have markedly increased. This is a very good documentary — a “MUST SEE”. Some really relevant and important information is presented in this doc. Eye-opening, frank, and disturbing, this film is a must-watch. This is a fraction of what is really going on in our government. The people of this country need to stand up and say NO MORE and start fighting for your rights before they are gone. Documentary 2013 NR 1hr 6m.